Death Wins a Goldfish

In this “charming, warm-hearted, and funny” picture book for adults, a workaholic grim reaper learns the importance of time off and self-care (NPR).

Death never takes a day off. Until he gets a letter from the HR department insisting he use up his accrued vacation time, that is. In this humorous and heartfelt book from beloved illustrator Brian Rea, we take a peek at Death’s journal entries as he documents his mandatory sabbatical in the world of the living. From skydiving to online dating, Death is determined to try it all! Death Wins a Goldfish is an important reminder to the overstressed, overworked, and overwhelmed that everyone—even Death—deserves a break once in a while.

“Death explores the magic and mundanity of life in this warmhearted vacation story . . . Rea’s work is rendered in warm, friendly hues: lemon meringue roller coasters and coral-colored speedboats predominate. Undergirding these cheerful shades is an earnest appeal to that most human of questions: how should one live? The answer, Death finds, is by going out there and doing it.” —Publishers Weekly

“A cheeky and charming and secretly profound variation on the ‘Death Takes a Holiday’ motif.” —LA Weekly

“Death Wins a Goldfish is not a book about death. It’s a book about living.” —Vanity Fair